Do you know what you can and cannot recycle? I bet you know about cans and paper, but to what extent? I’m here today to let you know the do’s and the don’ts about recycling. It is so important to know, you don’t want to make your job harder, or anyone else’s. Recycling is a picky job, but you’ll get it down. The formula is simple.

On to the lists…

The Recycle Do’s:

• Corrugated Cardboard: (shipping and packaging boxes, usually identifiable by a squiggly layer of paper sandwiched between sheets. Used pizza boxes are often NOT accepted)
• Paper and Parperboard: (office paper, notebook paper, cereal boxes, non-Styrofoam egg cartons, some pre-packaged food boxes. Some paper items like paper milk cartons and drink boxes are lined with wax or plastic and are often not accepted)
• Plastics: (milk jugs, shampoo bottles, detergent bottles, vitamin bottles, plastic soda and water containers etc. Most centers will only accept those plastics labeled with the PETE 1 and HDPE 2 symbols. These can generally be found molded into the bottom of the containers. If you can’t identify the type of plastic, don’t include it. Most facilities also require that you remove the cap since it is usually made of a different type of plastic. Some facilities will accept additional plastics, so if you are so inclined, check with your local recycling center.)
• Glass: (beer bottles, wine bottles, pickle jars, jelly jars, etc. Occasionally a center will accept only certain “colors” of glass. Light bulbs, Pyrex, ceramics, and mirrors are NEVER accepted. Glass is becoming less accepted because of the potential of worker injuries due to broken glass.)
• Aluminum cans: (you all know these, the Coke, Pepsi, and Sprites of the world)
• Steel cans: (soup cans, veggie cans, coffee cans, etc. and you don’t even need to remove the labels)
• Newspaper: (Ya that thing you sometimes read during a poo. )
• Magazines and slick inserts: (after you are finished with that People magazine and all those catalogs and Wal-mart ads that arrive in the mail, they can be recycled)

The Recycle Don’ts:

Yogurt cups – Margarine containers – Mirrors – Window or auto glass – Light Bulbs – Ceramics – Porcelain – Coat hangers – Glass cookware/bakeware  – Household items such as cooking pots, toasters, etc. – Frozen food trays – Plastic wrap – Plastic bags – Styrofoam – Stamps and stickers in junk mail – Shredded Paper – Plastics unnumbered

Please keep in mind that it is always different in different places. Check with your local recycling center to confirm things. It’s going to take some blood sweat and tears to be a recycling diva/divo but you can do it. Start small, and work your way up. Soon it’ll be second nature. Just remember to buy recycled products and for those things that cannot be recycled, send it back to the manufacture for them to dispose properly.

Get your recycle on!

(source) (source)